The 10 must-read female writers in your life
From Virginia Wolf to Elena Ferrante
G-Club
April 23rd, 2024
April 23rd, 2024
International Women's Day is an event aimed at remembering the social, political, and emancipatory achievements that women have gained throughout history. On March 8th, we celebrate the milestones achieved while continuing to denounce the violence and discrimination that women are forced to endure every day. Literature has been, and still is, a valuable tool in telling personal stories and expressing one's worldview. Having access to a multitude of voices is essential for learning to accept differences and diversity. Many women over time have found their expressive dimension in books, creating unforgettable masterpieces. For this article, I have chosen to suggest 10 female authors, along with their respective books, that I recommend reading at least once in a lifetime. The insights provided can be an excellent starting point.
Virginia Woolf - "A Room of One's Own"
VIRGINIA WOLF A Room of One's Own
10,45€
Although today the literary landscape offers an increasingly diverse array of female authors to draw from, it's essential not to forget that women were denied the opportunity to write and publish for a long time. Virginia Woolf recounts this in her essay "A Room of One's Own," based on her 1928 research on women and the novel. Roaming the shelves of the fictional Oxbridge library, she illustrates how the number of female authors is significantly lower than that of their male counterparts. She traces the history of women's literature, citing the names of those who opened the doors to this profession and trying to understand what made it possible. The conclusion: a woman needs a room of her own and enough money to sustain herself to write. She advocates for women to be admitted to a culture that had, until then, been an exclusive male domain. In this book, you can find references to well-known Bronte sisters, George Eliot, Jane Austen, and lesser-known figures like Anne Finch, George Sand, Aphra Behn, Fanny Burney, Eliza Carter, and Emily Davies.
Simone De Beauvoir - The Woman Destroyed
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR The Woman Destroyed
16€
Simone De Beauvoir is an icon of feminism who, with acute intelligence, exposed gender prejudices in 20th-century French society, transforming her philosophical analysis into a passionate political stance. Her works study and delineate oppressive social dynamics for women that the third wave of feminism sought to counteract. "The Second Sex" is considered an essential work of existentialist philosophy and still offers relevant insights. One good starting point among her writings is "The Woman Destroyed," a collection of texts, articles, personal interviews reflecting her far-sighted activism, addressing later interventions on the society of image. These writings vibrate with the urgency of a thought that, by urging restlessness, can open new perspectives on the world. Whether she writes about the power of literature or the condition of single mothers, denounces the objectification of women in advertising campaigns, or advocates for the advent of new forms of sexuality, Beauvoir always maintains a clear tone of rationality, unyielding yet capable of aligning with the diverse reasons of societies and individuals.
Shirley Jackson - "The Haunting of Hill House"
SHIRLEY JACKSON The Haunting of Hill House
11,40€
Shirley Jackson was a housewife, married to a writer and mother of four children, managing the family. She struggled to carve out precious moments for literary creation, which, during her lifetime, did not bring her particular notoriety. Nevertheless, she began earning more than her husband, becoming the main source of family income. Her responsibilities increased along with the anxiety and frustration of not having full control over her life. To cope with this, she used what was called the "housewife's drug," a mix of amphetamines, antidepressants, and barbiturates that profoundly and irreparably undermined her health. Her works reflect this deep disturbance: we often encounter fairly common episodes of daily life, or so it seems, until a disturbing element suddenly bursts onto the scene. It could be a misplaced sentence, a growing fear, or an unexpected event that disrupts the general calm. This is what happens in "The Haunting of Hill House," a classic of the gothic genre that revolves around a house, metaphorically understood, appearing unsafe and unwelcoming. The book tells of an obsession and explores the supernatural as the emergence of repressed fears and desires from the unconscious. Many have seen in this work a connection with the life of the author herself, trapped in a house with no way out.
Hannah Arendt - "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil"
HANNAH ARENDT Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil
12,35€
Born in Hannover in 1906 to a Jewish family, Hannah Arendt became a target of Nazi persecution and was forced to move first to France and then to the United States, where she remained for the rest of her life. Her works focused on the nature of power, politics, authority, and totalitarianism. The analysis of the forms of the latter is foundational to her studies. Her most famous work is the account of the Eichmann trial for the New Yorker, known as "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil." It was in this context that she raised the question of whether evil could be not radical but rather the absence of roots, of memory, of not revisiting one's thoughts and actions through a dialogue with oneself, which leads seemingly ordinary characters to become authentic agents of evil. The thoughts illustrated in this text are among the most cited and ensure a frequent presence of the author in any other respectable non-fiction work.
Toni Morrison - "Beloved"
TONI MORRISON Beloved
11,30€
In 1993, Toni Morrison became the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Through her pen, she opposed both white dominant culture and male power, even within the black community. In her most celebrated book, "Beloved," winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988, she tells the story of Sethe, an indomitable woman of color who, in the years before the American Civil War, rebels against her fate and flees to the North for freedom. A dramatic journey through the horror of slavery, the power of maternal love, and the weight of an unspeakable secret. The narrative is characterized by the blending of historical events and macabre atmospheres, intertwining myth and history, legend and reality. A majestic novel of extraordinary intensity, it has been adapted into a film starring Oprah Winfrey.
Joyce Carol Oates - "We Were the Mulvaneys"
JOYCE CAROL OATES We Were the Mulvaneys
20€
Joyce Carol Oates is known for being one of the most prolific American writers, having written over a hundred books, including more than forty novels. Themes frequently explored in her books include the hypocrisy and violence of bourgeois life, the oppression and commodification of women, the Cold War and the arrival of nuclear power in America, and intolerance towards diversity. Her writing can be described as "contemporary gothic," as her stories, though not horror per se, reveal everyday horror and the most frightening violence, the one that lurks within the domestic walls. In "We Were the Mulvaneys," we are plunged into the dark heart of bourgeois society. A world as affable as it is ruthless towards those who break its rules, where one inevitably finds oneself both victims and executioners. Everyone admires the Mulvaneys, everyone envies them. A cheerful, large, perfect family. However, something lurks behind that polished veneer of perfection, a balance too precarious to continue holding.
Annie Ernaux - "The Event"
ANNIE ERNAUX Happening
14,25€
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022, Annie Ernaux has a past as a feminist activist that is evident in her works and life choices. Starting from often autobiographical narration, she manages to bring out political thoughts in her works. Her writings blend history and sociology, recounting experiences that shift from personal to universal. In "The Event," she tells of her clandestine abortion in France in 1963. Narrating the chronicle of a painful yet humanly and politically transformative event, Ernaux raises her voice against the silences, blackmails, and hypocrisies of institutions and consciences.
Joan Didion - "The Year of Magical Thinking"
JOAN DIDION The Year of Magical Thinking
18,05€
Joan Didion is one of the most significant American voices in contemporary fiction and culture. A correspondent abroad for major American newspapers and author of essays on political, sociological, and cultural issues, she gave lucid and provocative expression to the problems of women of her generation. Her female figures, isolated, estranged, or on the run, stand against the backdrop of distorted social or political realities that leave no room for escape from history. In her more recent works, spanning fiction and essays, she recalled autobiographical events. An example is "The Year of Magical Thinking," a lucid account of the strategies used to accept two shocking events that, in a few days, overturned her life: the sudden death of her husband and her daughter's serious illness. It is the most famous and appreciated work of Joan Didion, also a winner of the National Book Award.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - "Half of a Yellow Sun"
CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE Half of a Yellow Sun
15€
Nigerian by nationality, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has become one of the most important voices in contemporary feminism thanks to various publications, including her 2012 discourse "We Should All Be Feminists." Among the most touched upon themes in her works are: different gender relations, race, space, and power, racism, and immigration. In "Half of a Yellow Sun," she recounts a dramatic period in African contemporary history: the struggle of Biafra for independence from Nigeria, resulting in a civil war that claimed the lives of more than a million people. With empathy and naturalness, she narrates the lives of some characters touched by the terrible events of the war. As Nigerian forces advance, the protagonists must defend what they believe in and reaffirm the affections that keep them together.
Elena Ferrante - "My Brilliant Friend"
ELENA FERRANTE My Brilliant Friend
18,05€
We do not really know who is behind this name, but we know that she wanted to be identified as a woman. Elena Ferrante is one of the strongest voices in the contemporary global literary scene, and her books have received countless awards. From being mentioned among the 100 most influential artists in the world by Time in 2016 to the film adaptations of her books. She herself compiled a list of her 40 favorite female authors, including other compatriots such as Natalia Ginzburg, Elsa Morante, Anna Maria Ortese, Michela Murgia, and Donatella Di Pietrantonio. In her major work, the saga "My Brilliant Friend," Elena Ferrante starts with the story of two young friends to tell the story of multiple families intertwined in the Naples suburbs. This bildungsroman delves deep into human relationships, friendship, and love.
